Prison schools get scrutiny

Texas State Sen. Florence Shapiro, R-Dallas, has summoned the superintendent of the Windham School District, which oversees education in the state prison system, to answer questions today about the $65 million in state funds the district receive annually because “they don’t seem to be doing a very good job.”

Shapiro, chairman of a Senate Finance subcommittee on public education funding, said she wants to ask Superintendent Debbie Roberts why so few inmates (about 5,200 a year received high school equivalency certificates. “I want to ask what they are doing with the money,” she said.

Unlike other Texas school districts, Windham operates mostly with state funds – since it cannot collect local property taxes. It was established in 1969 when most prison units were located around Huntsville, but it has grown geographically with the state’s far-flung correctional system.

Lawmakers are concerned that the district, which operates four regional offices, has outlived its usefulness. Facing a shortfall of state revenue for the next budget cycle, they are questioning whether Windham should be discontinued and its role outsourced to local